I woke next morning to the sun shining brightly through my drape covered windows, warming my pillows and blankets comfortably.
One would assume that would be a very nice way to start the day, right?
Too bad that’s not how my day started.
It was actually raining outside, water droplets pounding against the side of the building, when I cracked open my eyes. Turns out I’d tossed my warm, comfy blankets off onto the floor sometime in the middle of the night, and I was missing one of my fuzzy slipper socks.
Oh, and to top it all off?
Not only did I have my laptop taken away last night, but I also had slept in forty five minutes late, which meant that I had exactly fifteen minutes to get ready for school and catch the subway that left at 7:53 am on the dot.
This, no doubt, was bound to be one surely exciting day.
Fighting back a groan, I practically threw myself out of bed, half crawled my way to the door, wrenched it open, and sprinted for the kitchen. Of course my parents were already gone – New York was the city that never slept – so there was no one there to rag on me for being late as I threw open cupboards in the kitchen, trying to find some breakfast. I settled on a granola bar and a quick class of orange juice, both of which I promptly finished in one minute and nine seconds.
I realized with dread as I sprinted back to my room that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to take a shower, brush my hair and teeth, get dressed, gather my school work together and shove it in my bag, and then make a dash for the subway all within thirteen minutes.
To hell with all of this.
I was going to have to skip a shower this morning and the light dusting of makeup that I usually wore to look at least somewhat acceptable and head off to school. Three cheers for looking unruly in the morning. And besides – the last thing I needed was to get in trouble again after the “little stunt” I’d pulled last night.
My parents had been darn furious about my arrival home well after midnight and needless to say, I doubted they were going to lay up on the rules for awhile. Hopefully they’d change their minds. I rarely ever got into trouble. The most I was disciplined for was a couple of bad geometry grades.
I banged my way out of the bathroom ten minutes later after running a brush through my tangled hair and tugging on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved blouse, and my coat. Interestingly enough, I’d also found the dress and flats I’d been wearing last night – or rather, 27 days in the future – at Archer’s funeral, neatly tucked back into place in my closet.
It was beyond weird talking about Archer as if he were already dead when clearly, he was obviously alive. The conversation that we’d had yesterday night was still emblazoned firmly in my mind, as well as everything Death had told me.
One could only hope that today was going to go perfectly fine with nothing at all to through me off track on my mission. Of course, however, that was too much to ask for when you were Hadley Jamison.
Under normal circumstances, I would spend a bit more time wallowing – somewhat – in self pity about how much my life sucked. But today I just didn’t have the time or motivation for that. So after grabbing all of my school things, throwing them furiously into my bag, I banged my way out of the apartment, quickly locking up behind me, and then took off running.
Okay, so I probably shouldn’t have thrown my bag around, knocking people out of the way as I tried to high-tail it down to the subway entrance half a block over through the hustle and bustle of the sidewalks.
However, since I was probably going to be late, I couldn’t afford to take chances and be nice or polite. Taelor Lewis, the best friend, would also be there, too, and the Lord only knew what a fit she’d pitch if I didn’t arrive on time, in typical Taelor fashion. I’d really prefer it if she didn’t hit me with her purse this morning.
By the time I actually barreled my way down the greasy, worn linoleum steps that lead down into the subway it was 7:52 am. Literally, I had just made it in the nick of time.
“Where the hell were you?” Taelor shrieked when she finally saw me sprinting towards her.
“Got grounded,” I wheezed out, clutching at a stitch in my side. “Woke up late.”
That first statement was enough to make Taelor stop in her tracks as the grimy subway train clambered to a stop beside us.
“You got grounded?” she repeated in a flat voice. “What on Earth did you do to get grounded? You’re, like, the perfect child.”
I snorted out a laugh as we both shoved our way onto the train.
“That’s hardly the case, Taelor,” I told her as we took our seats towards the back. “I stayed out too late and got in trouble. End of story.”
“I seriously think you’re lying here,” Taelor accused, pointing a perfectly manicured finger me. “What were you doing out late?”
Ah. So this was where we were going to run into some problems.
After I had finished getting chewed out by my parents last night, I was way too exhausted by the days more than shocking and frightening events to even think about anything else but sleep. So I hadn’t exactly had the time to figure out what I was going to tell Taelor when it became obvious that I was clearly ditching her for Archer.
The very thought made me shudder. But it had to be done, didn’t it?
“I went to this little Chinese place for dinner by myself and accidentally fell asleep because I was so tired and then Archer Morales was the one who woke me up because he worked there and then we talked for a bit before I finally managed to get home,” I explained in a rush, hoping she wouldn’t take in all of what I’d just said.
Sure enough, it took her a few moments to let everything I’d told her sink in, and then she was all but freaking out on me.
“What? Archer Morales? Why the hell would you talk to Archer Morales?” Taelor demanded, practically sneering out Archer’s name.
I narrowed my eyes at her, my foul mood worsening slightly. “You don’t even know him, Taelor. He’s not that bad of a guy.”
Okay, so maybe I was lying just the slightest bit when I said that, because it was plainly clear to me that Archer Morales was a jerk.
It was going to be a tough job convincing myself that maybe something had happened in Archer’s past that made him the way he was. I already knew that he had three little sisters, right? Well, maybe it was his job to take care of his little sisters or something.
Really, the possibilities were endless, but I didn’t really want to dwell on that at the moment.
“He’s more of a freak, you’re right,” Taelor giggled after a moment of contemplation.
I resisted the urge to smack her with my school bag and instead settled for slouching back in my seat, occasionally glaring over at my best friend.
Taelor instantly changed the subject next, like she was so famous for, and instantly started babbling about this perfect pair of stiletto high heels that she’d found at Bloomingdale’s the other day and how I absolutely had to go shopping with her later this weekend because my wardrobe was so bland, and –
I’d really rather not finish that sentence, thanks very much.
We when we finally dragged ourselves out of the dungeons known as the subway, it was 8:17, which left us just enough time to sprint a block over to JFK High for classes to start promptly at 8:30 on the dot.
I plopped myself into a chair in homeroom six minutes later with an exhausted sigh, feeling like I could happily sleep for the next three years and be okay. Thank goodness Taelor had another homeroom so now I wouldn’t have to put up with her nagging questions anymore.
I had a feeling that this was going to be a super awesome day full of fun filled events and even more surprising things.
Not.
Now, here's the funny thing. I found it rather downright confusing at first that I was already aware of almost everything that Mrs. Anderson droned on and on about as she read off the list of announcements from a piece of paper.
At first I thought that Mrs. Anderson was reading my mind or something and it took several moments of deep, calming breaths to realize that I was - somehow - in the past. That meant I was going to be repeating everything I'd already been through in the previous 27 days, right?
Well, this was probably going to be the only time I'd be looking forward to a geometry test, because this meant that I now knew what was going to be on it. The only downside was that I'd have to do all of my stupid, tedious homework again.
Oh, and stop Archer Morales from comitting suicide. There was that, too.
I was up and out of my seat before the bell signaling the start of first hour had even finished ringing.
If I was going to be honest, I was trying to avoid Taelor and her impending awkward questions, and I really wanted to see Archer. There was this part of my mind that kept freaking out, reinforcing the thought that last night had been a dream and that I hadn't actually met Death and been sent back in time, as weird as that sounded.
This was so weird. I needed to see Archer.
But unluckily for me, it wouldn't be until lunch - four classes later - when I would be able to see Archer. I didn't have a single class with the guy at all.
We were both Juniors, which meant we had the same lunch hour. I hadn't ever actually seen Archer at lunch before, but he had to be somewhere. And as much as I was freaking out about this, I knew I had no choice but to find him.
So I spent the hours leading up to lunch focusing intently on how I was going to make "small talk" - for a lack of a better word - with Archer. He hadn't exactly given the impression that he actually liked talking last night, so I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be easy.
Yay for Hadley.
When fourth period chemistry finally ended, I grabbed my things, shoved them into my bag, and left the classroom with a bit of dread in my walk. My heart was pouning against my chest in a disjointed rythm, which was stupid because there wasn't anything I needed to be getting nervous over.
Who cared if anybody saw me talking to Archer?
It shouldn't even matter, because his life was literally resting on my shoulders.
I rubbed unconsciously at the grisly looking "27" mark on my wrist as I joined the throng of students rushing towards the cafeteria. That was more than just a silent reminder of everything I had to do.
God, I needed to stop freaking out. This wasn't the time to be acting like an emotionally confused teenaged girl. Hell, I had to be an adult about this.
I pushed my way through the crowded lunch line and eventually managed to snag a safe looking roast beef sandwich, some steak fries, and a bottle of water. Honestly, just standing in the line took up about half of the lunch period all together.
After paying for my food, I stood awkwardly off to the side in the cafeteria, standing on my tiptoes, trying my hardest to spot Archer's recognizably touseled dark hair. This was easier said than done, considering how many freaking kids went to this school. It was downright ridiculous.
"Hey, Hadley. You coming?"
I tried not to jump out of shock as Taelor stood next to me, holding her usual lunch that consisted of a measly salad and a bottle of water. Taelor and I normally sat with another group of Junior girls - Kat, Jamie, Nora, and Brea - on the opposite side of the cafeteria. The other girls were nice and pretty friendly, but they were just as gossip prone as Taelor was, which could get just the slightest bit annoying.
"Uh, I'll be along in a minute," I muttered, dropping my gaze to my feet. "There's something I've gotta go do."
Taelor looked very confused at my words and looked like she was about to say something in response, but that was at the exact moment I managed to spot Archer out of the huge mass of students eating lunch.
He was sitting towards the far end of the cafeteria, his things strewn about the small table in a disorderly manner, almost as if he was trying to given an offputting air so nobody would approach him. He was slouched forward slightly in his chair and it looked as if he had seen better days.
Well, here went nothing. Literally.
I threw a quick "See you later!" over my shoulder towards Taelor and all but marched my way across the cafeteria, heading in Archer's direction. The closer I got the more it became just the slightest bit difficult to breathe, but I forced myself to get over it. It wouldn't do me any good if I couldn't breathe around him for the next 27 days.
Archer whipped his head up and stared at me incredulously as I dropped into the seat across from him, throwing my jacket and bag on the chair beside me.
"Oh, God," he groaned, a hand flying to his forehead. "Not you again."
I tried to not take that personally as my eyes narrowed in his direction.
"Yes, me again," I sighed, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. "You should've been expecting it."
"I thought the whole 'I'll see you tomorrow' thing was just a cliche people say instead of goodbye," Archer commented, just the slightest bit annoyed. "I didn't think you were actually serious."
"Of course I was serious!" I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "I'm supposed to be getting to know you, Archer Morales."
"And why would you want to do that?"
The underlying layer of emotion in Archer's voice made a sliver of fear slip down my spine. There was this look in his eyes that clearly said he wasn't about to take anything less than the truth as an answer.
"Because," I said shakily after a moment, swallowing hard. "You seem like a very interesting person that I'd like to get to know better."
Archer made a thoughtful noise as he grabbed one of my steak fries and took a bite of it, his brows pulled down in a way that made it seem as if he were deep in thought.
"That seems like an acceptable answer," he said after a moment. "Except I don't believe you. You never talked to me before last night. Has your opinion changed of me that fast?"
Well, yeah, I thought with a mental eye roll. I had no idea you could be so rude.
I was going to have to put that behind me, however.
"Well, you did wake me up at that Chinese restaurant instead of just leaving me there," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "That seems like a merit in itself, right?"
"Don't remind me of last night," Archer muttered, shuddering slightly. "That was so stepping out of my comfort zone, being nice to you. You might as well mark that one down in the books, because it's not going to happen again."
I snorted out a laugh, rolling my eyes again. He was probably dead on about that one.
I watched Archer for a few moments in silence while he grabbed my plate of fries and started eating them for himself, wondering why on Earth he was being so antisocial. I was being nice, wasn't I?
Or maybe it was just me?
"Look, Archer," I said, ignoring my grumbling stomach. "Why are you so opposed to the idea of being friends?"
Archer made a ridiculous face while he munched my fries, staring up at the ceiling as if he were deep in thought.
"You're a popular, rich, ignorant little brat that doesn't know a damn thing about anything," he finaly said, just the slightest bit blunt. "That's probably why I'm so opposed to the idea of being friends."
The way he sneered out the word "friends" made me irrationally angered and I had to resist the urge to throw the plate of fries at him.
"First of all," I ground out through clenched teeth. "I am not popular. And my parents are rich, not me. Plus, I do too know things! I'm about as far from ignorant as you can get!"
Archer raised an elegant dark eyebrow, not looking convinced at all. "Oh, really?"
"Really!"
"I don't believe you."
"You don't even know me, Archer! Why are you being so thickheaded?"
"You don't know me either, Hadley."
This entire time I had no idea that we'd been unconsciously leaning across the table towards each other, our eyes locked in a furious glaring match. And he'd nearly finished all of my fries, darn him.
But I wasn't going to be the one to back down so easily from this. Oh, hell no.
"Can you please just give us being friends a shot, Archer?" I asked quietly, trying hard to keep from blushing.
Archer's fathomless dark eyes traveled over my face, almost like if he were searching for answers there, before he let out an aggravated sigh, leaning back in his chair as far away from me as possible.
"Fine," he griped, sounding very unhappy. "We'll give being friends a shot. But just so you know, you're annoying and you get on my nerves easily. I'm not so sure I like you."
That, for some odd reason, made me burst out laughing.
"All right, Archer," I said, just the slightest bit sarcastically. "If you think I'm annoying now, just wait until we get to know each other more. Honey, you ain't seen nothing yet."
At that moment the bell rang loudly, signaling the end of the lunch hour and the start of fifth period.
Hn. Lucky for Archer.
"Here, go ahead and have the rest of my fries," I said, shoving the plate further towards him. "You've already eaten most of them anyway."
"Thanks," he retorted sarcastically. "I'll be sure to steal your food more often."
I stood up and grabbed my things off the chair beside me, tucking my sandwich into my bag. I'd probably just end up eating the thing on the subway home.
"Well, this marks the first day of our being friends," I said to Archer as I stood awkwardly beside the table.
Archer remained sitting at the table, munching happily on a fry. "Lucky me."
I gave him a withering look but held out my hand for him to shake anyways.
He stared at my hand as if was covered in leeches or something but reached out and shook my hand anyways. If we were going to be shaking hands often, I was just going to have to get used to the warm, electrifying feeling I got whenever he touched me.
Oh, joy.
"See you later, Archer," I trilled in an annoying voice. "Stay out of trouble!"
Archer murtered something I couldn't hear - and I wasn't so sure I wanted to hear what he'd said, anyways - and I quickly turned and joined the jumble of students leaving the cafeteria for class.
"Well," I sighed to myself, my gaze fixed on my feet. "One day down, twenty six more to go."
I sure hoped Death knew what he'd gotten himself into, asking me to save Archer.
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Oh my goodness!! I am so sorry that it took me so long to post this chapter!! D:
I've just been so stressed out about my final exams - of which I passed all of them! - and the impending holidays!!
Hopefully I will be able to post another chapter or two before I go back to school - I have everything I want to write planned out for this, it's just going to take some time to get it written down!! D:
Thank you all for being so patient! And thank you SO MUCH for all of the nice comments and rates and votes and everything!! :D
votes, comments, and reads are always greatly appreciated!! :D thanks!